WMTW News 8's Paul Merrill talks to state legislators and the state director of MaineCare services following the announcement that the Department of Health and Human Services will not renew the contract for the company providing transportation for MaineCare patients after many complaints about the service.

STATE OFFICIALS -- TAKING A BIG STEP IN THEIR EFFORTS TO IMPROVE THE PROBLEM-PLAGUED SYSTEM THAT COORDINATES TRANSPORTATION FOR MAINECARE PATIENTS. THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES WILL NOT RENEW ITS CONTRACT WITH THE BIGGEST RIDE BROKER - COORDINATED TRANSPORTATION SERVICES OR C-T-S. W-M-T-W NEWS EIGHT POLITICAL REPORTER PAUL MERRILL JOINS US LIVE NOW IN OUR STUDIO. THIS ALL STARTED AFTER THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TOLD THE STATE OF MAINE THAT IT HAD TO CHANGE ITS OLD MODEL FOR COORDINATING TRANSPORTATION FOR MAINECARE PATIENTS. THE STATE PUT THIS RIDE BROKERAGE MODEL IN PLACE LAST YEAR AND IT'S BEEN CAUSING PROBLEMS EVER SINCE. SARAH TRITES OF SABATTUS SAYS SHE HAS SEEN SOME IMPROVEMENTS IN THE WAY C-T-S COORDINATES RIDES FOR HER SINCE THE NEW SYSTEM STARTED LAST SUMMER. "but I have also had problems with the rides being late or not showing up and I have to constantly call to make sure that they are going to be showing up." ONE CALLER REPORTEDLY SPENT TWENTY-ONE HOURS ON HOLD. DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS WANT TO THROW OUT THE CURRENT RIDE- COORDINATION SYSTEM AND START OVER. Allagash:) "I think five months of trying to get this straight is more than enough time. Five minutes for some of these people was too much to be waiting." D-H-H-S ANNOUNCED TODAY THAT IT IS NOT RENEWING ITS CONTRACT WITH THE BIGGEST RIDE BROKER: C-T-S AND THAT'S CAUSING NEW CONCERNS. Allagash:) "It was already poor to begin with. Now they know they're not going to get their contract renewed, so we're going to probably have even worse quality for the next six months." STEFANIE NADEAU IS THE STATE'S DIRECTOR OF MAINECARE SERVICES. "In conversations with CTS, they have acknowledged that they are going to work with the state as we transition to a new broker. They still are under a contract." ONE BILL IN FRONT OF LAWMAKERS AIMS TO ELIMINATE THE MIDDLE MAN BY GETTING RID OF THE RIDE BROKERS AND HAVING D-H-H-S COORDINATE THE TRANSPORTATION. IT COMES AT A COST TO THE STATE BUT SOME SAY IT'S WORTH IT. Waterville:) "I think that the brokerage model probably worked great in states where there was a larger, more concentrated urban population with a lot of competition among the providers but that clearly doesn't work for us." OTS TAG A C-T-S STATEMENT READS, IN PART, "In partnership with OMS , Coordinated Transportation Solutions has made significant and measurable progress since August... eliminating many of the issues that regretfully caused so much difficulty to MaineCare members at the time of implementation." D-H-H-S SAYS THE STATE'S OTHER TWO RIDE BROKERS - LOGISTICARE AND PENQUIS - ARE CURRENTLY MEETING THEIR CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS. LIVE IN THE STUDIO, PAUL MERRILL, W-M-T-W

An Iranian military observation aircraft flew within 50 yards of an armed U.S. Navy helicopter over the Persian Gulf this month, sparking concern that top Iranian commanders might not be in full control of local forces, CNN has learned.